


Human!Cronus x Reader: You of All People

by Carrie_oke



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/M, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-03
Updated: 2015-02-28
Packaged: 2018-02-28 02:34:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 17,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2715749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carrie_oke/pseuds/Carrie_oke
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You find yourself stuck in a movie. But not just any movie. It's your younger sister's favorite movie and home of the guy you REALLY wish you didn't have to talk to right now. Now, on top of finding a way home, you have to face the protagonist's irritating older brother. Of course, he's hoping your opinion will change.</p><p>NOTE: The reader is assumed to be female, but you're welcome to swap out the pronouns if you want.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

All you wanted to do was get a book off the kitchen counter without having to hear that stupid movie in the background. Was that too much to ask?  
  
Apparently it was, because your little sister Valerie was watching  _A Little Bit of Love_  yet again. It was either the fourth or the fifth time this week. And you'd just about had it with the main character's older brother.  
  
Eridan himself wasn't that bad. The movie was about him, a young guy of the 50's according to the 70's, and his quest to put an end to his loneliness. Sure, he wasn't the nicest of people, but he was Valerie's character crush, so you kind of had to tolerate him. Besides, he wasn't as bad as his brother.  
  
That would be Cronus, who seemed to serve no purpose other than to follow Eridan around and taunt him about not having a girlfriend, even though he didn't have any experience with the ladies either.  
  
But that didn't stop him from trying. He flirted with just about every girl he saw, and not even in a complimentary way. It was always about HIM and HIS problems, and still, when he got rejected, he acted like there was something wrong with the girl.  
  
He just irritated you so much, and if you had to listen to him one more time, you would...GO TO BED EARLY!  
  
And the next line he got, you set out to do just that. Your book at your side, you ran up the stairs. The sound of the TV followed you, and you desperately tried to drown it out with your own stomping. It certainly helped when you had brushing your teeth to distract you.  
  
A few minutes later, you were under the covers. Even from your bedroom, you could hear muffled voices. But you were determined to not pay attention to them, and eventually you found a thought interesting enough to occupy your brain as you drifted off to sleep.  
  
It was when you woke up that things got weird.  
  
For one thing, the morning greeted you with a face full of grass. THAT certainly wasn't pleasant; who knew what kind of strange pattern had been pressed onto your face by then? So you rolled over the first chance you got.  
  
And yes, you were definitely outside. You were too tired to examine your surroundings at first, so for a little while, you just stared at that cloud in the shape of a heart. Only the clouds were moving, so by the time you sat up, it looked more like a lung.  
  
Now that you were sitting, you could see that you were in front of a high school. It wasn't your high school, but it looked familiar somehow. On the bottom floor, you spotted a broken window, from when Ricky Roberts kept tossing rocks at Room 105 trying to get Loretta Gray's attention.  
  
Wait. How the heck did you know that?  
  
Oh, right. Because  _that guy_  said so. In the scene where he was introducing Eridan to the school on the younger one's first day of freshman year. Yes, it was all coming back to you now. But you still had a few more questions.  
  
First, since when did Carnation High actually exist?  
  
Second, since when did you wear a skirt to bed?  
  
And third, how did you even get here?  
  
You stood up, brushed stray grass blades off of your blouse, and began searching for someone who could help you. Hey, there was someone leaning against a tree not too far from where you were! Maybe he'd be able to help.  
  
But you took a step closer and– oh, no.  
  
Ohhhh no. No way. You were NOT about to approach him. You were still in disbelief that this movie was a reality, but the day you asked Cronus Ampora for help was the day the  _Smurfs_  turned out to be real.  
  
But it was too late. He'd spotted you. And he was already making his way towards you. "Well, well, well," he said, trying oh-so-hard to be smooth. "Look who's finally awake."  
  
This was not going to be fun.


	2. Chapter 2

_Alright, self,_  you thought.  _I know how annoying he is, but you gotta hold it in. Pretend you've never seen this guy before. Besides, there's still the chance that he's not actually Cronus, and this is all just a huge prank._  
  
You took a deep breath and finally responded to him. "How long were you standing there?"  
  
"I dunno, five minutes maybe? I'm just waiting for Eri to get his backpack back."  
  
Oh, right. Towards the beginning of the movie, on the first day of school, Eridan had his backpack stolen by some bullies. It bothered you how Cronus let some random girl distract him from helping his brother out. And speaking of that girl, where was she?  
  
You opened your mouth to ask Cronus just in time to realize the question would make no sense. So instead you asked, "Eri?"  
  
"My little brother. He's having some Ingham trouble. You know, those scary-looking brothers?"  
  
Now you let a little anger burst out of you. "Then why aren't you helping him?" you almost shouted. Man, it felt good to raise your voice, if only a bit.  
  
"Hey, easy! I was going to help him out, but then I saw you." That was when it clicked; that random girl had been replaced. By you. Luckily, she didn't appear at all outside of that one scene, so maybe this encounter with Cronus would be your only.  
  
So you stood calmly as you listened to him explain. "And what a babe! I just had to wait until you woke up, and–" You were getting suspicious, and thankfully, he noticed, then corrected himself. "–and I'd make sure you were okay. Yeah. But if you're interested, maaaybe I could consider..."  
  
You cut him off. "That won't be necessary."  
  
"'Cause you don't even know me, right?" he assumed. "That's easy to fix. I'm Cronus. Cronus Ampora, the tragically misunderstood."  
  
It took every ounce of will power you had to not say, "Yeah, right." Instead, you took a step back to put some distance between the two of you.  
  
And you decided to get down to business. "So...any idea how I got here?"  
  
He seemed confused. "I dunno, the bus? Like everyone else? How should I know?"  
  
Right. You didn't recall any fourth wall breaking in the movie, so of course he didn't know what you were talking about.  
  
Now it was his turn to ask a question. "Hey, shouldn't you be introducing YOURself over there? I took the time to wait for you; the least you could give me is your name!"  
  
After a mental groan, you said, "Oh, right, sorry. I'm ______." Now that you knew he was Cronus (how many people with that name did you know?), it just confirmed the situation's unpleasantness.  
  
And awkwardness. What were you supposed to say to him next? Should you just go inside the school and see what happened? How hard would it have been to find someone else to help you through your journey?  
  
Your thoughts were put on hold with Eridan's arrival. Covered with scrapes and with a backpack to match, the younger Ampora confronted the older. "It sure was nice o' you to do ABSOLUTELY FLIPPIN' NOTHING while I was gettin' PUMMELED!"  
  
"I had more important matters to attend to!" Cronus retaliated, motioning towards you.  
  
"Oh, yes, because your inability to get any girl whatsoever to even TOLERATE you is more important than my life!" Eridan snapped.  
  
Just like in the movie, the two of them began to argue. And just like that random girl from the original scene, you used this opportunity to sneak away. Even though you didn't go to this school, some little part of your subconcious gave you the feeling that now you did. And whatever power had brought you here was nice enough to give you the necessary supplies. So you picked up the pile of books with your name on them and carried them all the way to the front double doors.  
  
You fought your way to the front of the pack of kids scrambling to figure out what their homerooms were; the information was posted on the wall. You were able to find your name, and as soon as you could, you rushed to Room 107.  
  
Luckily, you made it on time; the bell rang as if its "on" switch were located on your chair. As you let your breathing slow down, you surveyed the room. The desks were all full except for the one next to you. Sure, the chance was there, but what were the odds that...  
  
...he would rush into the classroom panting, mumble an apology for being late, and sit his butt down right next to you?  
  
Pretty high, it seemed. That Cronus was harder to escape than you thought.


	3. Chapter 3

As the teacher gave his "One more tardy and it's a detention" speech, you tried your best to focus on the front of the room. That was a really interesting eraser smudge on the blackboard there. It kinda looked like a comet.  
  
Mr. Newman, as the teacher revealed himself to be, then proceeded to take attendance. As each student confirmed their prescence, he took this opportunity to hand them their schedule.  
  
Wow, this was boring. You started to wish it was more like a movie, where it only shows plot-relevant scenes. But the focus at this point was supposed to be on Eridan, so nothing exciting had to happen here. It was just like regular school, with less advanced technology and a fictional character sitting next to you.  
  
Speaking of Cronus, he wasn't about to give up on you. As soon as his schedule touched his desk, he turned to you and whispered, "Hey again. This must be fate."  
  
You scooted your desk away, making a mental note to put it back later. You had no idea what to say to this guy, so you didn't say anything.  
  
But he was a persistent one. "Something wrong? It's just me."  
  
You scooted a few more inches away.  
  
Now he was starting to get annoyed. "The whole 'silent treatment' thing really hurts, you know that? Come on, say something."  
  
Instead of saying something, you scooted a few more inches away, not realizing you had an obstacle. "Oof!" you exclaimed.  
  
You turned to find that you'd smacked into the desk of another student. Her head was just above the seat of the chair, and her feet held prisoner the desk in front of her. After the bump, she rose a bit from her position to see who caused it.  
  
"Sorry," you whispered, "I was just trying to–"  
  
"Damara, um, Me...gido!" Mr. Newman called. The name was louder than the others, and Mr. Newman was struggling to pronounce it.  
  
"Engh," was all the girl next to you said in response.  
  
As the teacher dropped Damara's schedule on her desk, he ordered, "Sit up, Miss Megadeer. And Miss ______, please detach your desk from hers."  
  
"Sorry, Mr. Newman," you said, not wanting to cause trouble. Immediately, you scooted back to your original position.  
  
As soon as Mr. Newman moved on, Damara told you, "They always get name wrong."  
  
"Again, sorry about crashing into you, Da...how do you pronounce it?"  
  
She informed you of the correct pronunciation, then added, "No worry. Would have done same."  
  
She looked over your shoulder and eyed Cronus. "Or I maybe spit at him."  
  
"So you're talkin' to her, but not me?" Cronus complained. "What's the big idea?"  
  
You were prepared to finally snap and ask him what the big idea with  _him_  was, but Damara thankfully prevented you from causing a scene. And it only took three words: "Leave her alone."  
  
Three words combined with a look that could kill, really. "Okay, okay, sheesh!" Cronus said. "Just tryin' to make friends here!"  
  
Before anything else could be said, the bell rang. Time to go to first period. "Thanks!" you said to Damara as you gathered up your stuff.  
  
"Is no problem," she said. "By the way, what your first name?"  
  
"_____," you told her. Both of you stood up and made your way out the door. "Now, I wanna get to class on time. See you later!"  
  
Clutching your schedule, you looked down at it and noticed that your first class was math. In Room 204. You scrambled up the stairs, determined to be one of the first ones in. That way, you figured, you'd have a choice of seating instead of being stuck next to anyone.  
  
As you fast-walked, you wondered if Damara was in the movie at all. She seemed like too interesting of a character not to be. Well, there was a brief scene with someone named  _Aradia_  Megido at one point; maybe Damara was in the background.  
  
You crossed the border between the upstairs hallway and Room 204 as if it were a finish line, and thus began your game of avoidance.


	4. Chapter 4

Throughout the morning, you took special care to avoid Cronus. Not only did you make sure you were one of the first inside each classroom, but you set up a wall of textbooks on your desk to hide your identity.  
  
And your strategy worked in all four morning classes; all the desks around you remained Cronus-free. You weren’t even sure which of those classes he had with you, if he had any classes with you.  
  
Once lunchtime came around, however, your mind had drifted away from avoiding him. There were more important issues to address, namely how you were going to get out of here. Was there a portal somewhere? An ancient text containing a magic “go home” spell? Was it as simple as tapping your heels together?  
  
You dwelled on this for a while, absent-mindedly taking food from what the cafeteria had to offer. What snapped you out of it was when the lunch lady told you your food would cost 75 cents. Wait a minute; did you even have money with you?  
  
You panicked as you checked your blouse pockets. How could whatever sent you here give you the right outfit and school supplies, but not even a little bit of money?  
  
“Uh…” you said as you felt the line of students behind you grow impatient.  
  
But the next thing you knew, a familiar voice spoke up. “Here you go.”  
  
And just like that, your lunch was paid for. You hurried away from the counter, almost forgetting to check who it was that helped you out.  
  
But you did remember, and as you’d guessed by the voice, it had been Damara. Which you thought surprising, since she didn’t strike you as the helpful type. But maybe that was just because she didn’t like most people.  
  
“Thanks!” you said before standing there awkwardly for a few seconds. It took a little bit for Damara to realize you were waiting for her to invite you to sit down.  
  
Just as she was about to do so, however, an all-too-familiar voice interrupted her. “Hey, Dam,” it said. “You didn’t need to do that. I had it covered!”  
  
Well, your luck had run out. Or had it? At the moment, Cronus was distracted by Damara, who was currently telling him to go away in the rudest way the movie's rating would allow. So it was your chance to escape.  
  
Which you did by sitting down at the empty lunch table right next to you. And sliding all the way to the end of it.  
  
You at least had a minute to start eating, so you stuck your spoon into what looked like mashed potatoes. Like typical cafeteria fare, the food wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible either. You didn't have to force yourself to keep eating.  
  
And you got through about half of it until Damara could finally join you. You had to swallow before you could say anything. When your throat was clear, you were able to acknowledge her. "Hi again!" you said. "I guess I owe you money now, huh?"  
  
"No, you good," she assured you. "If I needed money so bad, would have took it from him."  
  
"Cronus?" you asked for clarification.  
  
"Yes," she confirmed. "He wanted to pay."  
  
"WHAT?" That was certainly nicer than the kind of thing you'd come to expect from him. Normally, he wouldn't help anyone unless...  
  
...he expected to get something in return. Right. What was especially annoying about this is that you weren't the only female in the school; Cronus had plenty of other people to go bother. Why he was so determined to get  _you_ , you had no idea.  
  
But instead of asking about that, you decided to change the subject. "So there's no one else at your usual table?"  
  
"No," was Damara's concise answer. "Most scared of me."  
  
"Really, now?"  
  
She smirked evilly at a nearby table full of boys just as one of those boys called her over. "Dam! C'mere! I need you to...I need your help with something!"  
  
"Excuse me," Damara said, getting up to go talk to him. With that, you were left alone.  
  
But not for long. "Finally!" exclaimed Cronus, who promptly took Damara's spot while it was still warm. "We meet again."  
  
You slid towards the end of the bench.  
  
"Why are so scared of me, _____?" he demanded. "I'm just trying to be a friend here. Or more."  
  
"Look, Cronus, I'm really not– whoa!" As you were sliding away again, your arm was still on the lunch table, and you accidentally knocked over your milk carton. Now there was a huge white puddle to clean up, and...oh, great, now it was on your skirt!  
  
Cronus started grinning; apparently, now was his chance. But you were way too distracted to pay any attention to him.  
  
Because for a second there, in the puddle, you thought you saw your living room.


	5. Chapter 5

You gazed into the milk puddle as if it were about to tell you your future. It really was your living room in there! Sure, it was hard to see due to the whiteness of the milk, but you knew your house well enough to recognize it when you saw it.  
  
What could this mean? How could the puddle be reflecting an image that wasn't there? You were confused for a few seconds, but then you had a moment of realization.  
  
Maybe this would tell you the way home.  
  
Something compelled you to touch it, so you reached for the milky area of the table and dipped your finger in. You let out a small gasp once your finger made contact; there was  _no way_  a puddle could be that deep. You reached in a little more. At this point, about half of your index finger was submerged, and you still didn't touch cafeteria table.  
  
Excitement surged through you, but a napkin promptly wiped it away. Next thing you knew, Cronus was leaning right up against you, trying to reach the edge of the spill. And you lifted your finger, knowing your potential portal was gone.  
  
"Cronus!" you shouted. "What are you doing?"  
  
"Oh, am I being rude?" he asked, pretending to just notice you were there. "I just need to wipe up this spilled milk. Almost at the edge there." He struggled to push the napkin to the very edge of the puddle, and in the process he was pushing  _himself_  against you.  
  
"Well, you could wipe it up from the other side of the table!"  
  
"Calm down!" he told you. "No use yelling over spilled milk."  
  
You slid off the table and stood up, causing Cronus to crash into the bench. "Ow," he said.  
  
Now was your chance. While he was looking away, you began walking to where Damara was. Part of your mind was bugging you to turn back, but you tried to fight it.  _No,_  you told yourself.  _He's just a fictional character. Whatever injuries he suffers are none of my concern._  
  
But in the end, you couldn't bring yourself to not care. Sure, he was annoying, but you were too nice to want him to be hurt. All you'd wanted was for him to go away, not for him to be damaged.  
  
So you walked back over to him and took a deep breath. After a few moments of silence, you worked up the courage to ask, "Are you okay, Cronus?"  
  
\-----------------  
  
It was 11:45 A.M. back at your house. Technically, it was still morning, but you were usually up by this time. Valerie was getting concerned. So she paused the behind the scenes documentary on the  _A Little Bit of Love_  DVD and rushed up to your bedroom.  
  
"_____?" she called. "______, are you okay?" She opened the door just enough to step through, and cautiously, she let herself in. The covers on your bed were all in a bunch.  _She's probably got her head under there,_  Valerie figured. But once she pulled back the covers, she yelped in horror. Where the heck were you?  
  
Valerie burst out of your room and frantically checked every room in the house. No, you weren't in the upstairs bathroom. Or Valerie's room. Or your parents' room. Or the basement. Or the boiler room.  
  
By the time she was back at the front door, Valerie was in a panic. She was certain you wouldn't leave the house in the middle of the night, and if you'd left during the day, she would have seen you. What had happened? And how was she going to tell her parents?  
  
Her thoughts were interrupted with the sound of wheels rolling right to the front of your house. There was only one person Valerie knew who would skate here, and that was your friend and neighbor Latula Pyrope. And maybe Valerie's friend Terezi was here, too! But more importantly, maybe Latula could help in the search for the lost older sister.  
  
Before Latula had time to knock, Valerie opened the door. Terezi wasn't here. Bummer.  
  
"Hey there, Valve!" Latula greeted. "What's goin' on? I just came to pick up one of Z's little dragon friends or whatevz."  
  
"Scalemates!" Valerie corrected. "They're scalemates. And Inspector Berrybreath is in my room. I'll go get him!" Valerie had wanted to borrow the "Inspector" because he was purple, the favorite color of Valerie's current obsession. Well, Eridan liked to call it "royal violet," but close enough.  
  
When she was halfway up the stairs, Valerie remembered there were more important matters than the return of a stuffed dragon. "LATULA!" she shouted, speeding back down to ground level. "_____'S MISSING!"


	6. Chapter 6

"Missing?" Latula repeated, as if to make sure she'd heard Valerie right. "Are you sure she's not still asleep?"

"Yeah! She's not in her room. Come on, I'll prove it!" Valerie waved for Latula to follow her as she dashed up the stairs again. Still not sure about this, Latula wasn't as fast in following behind; she made sure to pick up her skateboard and close the front door first.

As soon as both of them were in front of your bedroom, Valerie flung the door open, hurried inside, and threw the covers off of your bed.

"Whoa! She really isn't there," Latula said. "Doesn't mean she's MIA, though. You tried the other rooms?"

"YES! Even the boiler room! And why would ANYONE want to hang out in there?" Valerie shouted, panicked.

"Then we really do got a problem. No, two problems."

"WHAT'S THE SECOND ONE?"

"The ceiling's sprung a leak!" Latula pointed to a crack in the ceiling just above your bed, which was dripping water.

"Wow, it has! We gotta get that checked out." Again, Valerie caught herself getting distracted and switched right back to serious mode. "AFTER we find ______!" She ran out of the room, again motioning for Latula to follow, and headed downstairs.

Soon both were in the living room. "WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?" Valerie wailed.

"Clean up that spill, for startz," Latula replied. "Lemme go get a paper towel."

Valerie looked over to the TV and caught a glimpse of Eric Prince, the actor who played Eridan, in the middle of talking about how fun it had been on the set. But then Valerie saw the coffee table.

It was covered in apple juice from when Valerie left to start her search for you; she hadn't realized she'd knocked over her drink. Now she felt stuck staring at it; the spill mesmerized her. Within seconds, it was even more fascinating, because Valerie saw a face in it. And it definitely wasn't hers.

Instead, it was yours. Valerie glanced up to see if this meant you were there after all, but she immediately went back to the puddle once she'd seen that you weren't. Your image slowly reached out towards your sister, as if you were going to poke her. And then...

"AAAH!" Valerie screamed, causing Latula to run back over with only half of the paper towels she'd wanted to grab.

"What is it?" Latula asked.

"Th–there's a..."

"There's a what?"

"There's...a...HUMAN FINGER...in the juice!"

"No way, grl. You CAN'T be serious!"

"I am!"

Latula turned to the spill. "Uh, Valerie? There's no finger there."

"B-but I saw–" Valerie interrupted herself as soon as she saw that the finger was indeed gone. And so was the image of you.

\-----------------

"Yeah, I'm fine," Cronus answered, in a voice that usually means a person is anything but fine. "Just a broken heart is all. Shouldn't be hard to fix."

You rolled your eyes. "Cronus, I'm sorry I made you hit the bench, but you're being WAY TOO DRAMATIC about this. It can't be THAT bad."

"You're right. It can't." He was still lying face down on the cafeteria bench. "I'm only shot through the chest!"

"Geez! There are plenty of other girls around here. Why don't you try one of them?"

Cronus sniffled. "Because none of them are you!"

You crossed your arms. "Why are you so stuck on me? All you know about me is my name and that I've been trying to get away from you. There's no way you can genuinely like me."

"Ever heard of love at first sight?"

You couldn't believe this guy. Even getting slammed into a hard bench didn't stop him. "What's the REAL reason you're after me?" you pressed.

"Okay, fine!" Cronus finally sat up. "Thing is, I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not too popular around here."

"Really?"

"Yep. Sad, but true. They're really missing out."

You had no comment.

"It's 'cause I have kind of a bad reputation. And since I hadn't seen you before, maybe you didn't know about it." He slumped in his seat. "So I thought I could actually have a chance."


	7. Chapter 7

Something weird was stirring inside you. Thinking over what Cronus had said, you began to experience a different feeling mixed in with all the annoyance. It felt like...sympathy.

Your logical side told you there was no reason to feel sorry for Cronus; he was stuck with a bad reputation for a reason. But the rest of you wasn't ready to agree. He looked so sad sitting there, and even if he was exaggerating, it was clear that deep down, he was just lonely. The problem was that he had a really bad way of searching for company.

"Um, Cronus?" you almost whispered.

"Yeah?"

You took a deep breath. "I...I can't believe I'm saying this but it, um, doesn't have to be this way."

His head shot up. "You'll date me?"

"What? No!"

"I should've known." He slumped again.

"What I meant was, I'll help you find someone else to date you. I know I've–"

"But everyone else hates me! I told you!"

"Just let me finish!" You took a couple of seconds to calm down, then continued. "I know I've been harsh, but I think you have the potential to be really...charming, yeah. What you need to do is–"

You were interrupted again, this time by the end of lunch bell.

You sighed. "We'll discuss this later."

Throughout the afternoon, Cronus seemed to be waiting impatiently for you to finish what you had to say. Since you didn't make as much of an effort to avoid him as you had in the morning, you could see that he was in three out of four of your afternoon classes.

Luckily, so was Damara. As soon as she asked, you told her about your lunch encounter with Cronus. You assured her that you'd handled it on your own, so she didn't have to hurt anybody. Still, she was willing to stick up for you if she needed to.

She didn't really need to, though. While you often caught Cronus looking at you in those afternoon classes, he didn't try to talk to you. You guessed that he wanted to but preferred not to get Damara after him again. Either that, or he figured that since you'd said you'd talk to him later, there was no need to try during class.

After what seemed like an eternity, dismissal came along. Excitement surged through you at the thought of going home, but then you remembered you were in a different world. And you had no idea where home was.

You navigated your way to the office as quickly as you could, pushing past the swarm of students rushing to go home. As soon as you reached the office and found the secretary, you said, "Excuse me? This is going to be a weird question, but do you know where I live?"

The secretary looked up from her paperwork, understandably confused. "Do you mean to ask which bus you should board?"

That would be a good start. "Sure," you said.

"Last name?" the secretary inquired.

"______," you informed her.

After a few moments of flipping through papers, Ms. Secretary told you, "Number 112."

"Thank you!" you called, already heading out the door. Soon, you were outside, in front of a bunch of weird looking buses. They looked like someone had cut off the front of a tractor, painted it yellow, and glued it to a modern school bus. Strangely, this served as one of the few reminders that this was supposed to be the 50's.

Kinda like the guy who was using the term "hot rod" nonironically. Your attention was directed towards him just in time to see him heading onto bus 112. And soon, you were on yourself.

And of course, so was Cronus. You prepared to talk to him again, but then you realized that this was a scene from the movie. He was supposed to sit next to Eridan and pester him about his day. And then Eridan, in his venting, was eventually going to reveal that he needed a friend, which would lead to Cronus's suggestion that he needed a girlfriend, which would start off the main part of the story.

Taking special care not to interfere with the plot too much, you sat as far away from the brothers that the available seats would allow. After all the excitement that day, it was nice to get a moment to yourself. Maybe there were other people in the surrounding seats, but you didn't have to listen to any of them. You could just sit back, relax, and concentrate on your own thoughts.

It was hard to relax, though, when there was still the issue of where you were going to stay. That was something too important to ignore, and it poked at you until your fifteen minute bus ride was over.

You knew this was your stop because your last name was painted on the mailbox of one of the houses. So you stood up, gathered your school supplies, and walked down the bus's narrow aisle.

"Hey!" Cronus called from your left. "What about our discussion?"

"Oh, that!" you said. "I guess that'll have to wait until tomorrow." And you stepped off the bus.

As you exited, Eridan was still in earshot. You could hear him say, "Look who lives next door!"


	8. Chapter 8

As you carried your school supplies to the front of what was apparently your house now, you wondered just who was your next door neighbor. Maybe it was one of Eridan's potential love interests. Maybe it was some other character. Or maybe it was someone who didn't even appear in the movie.  
  
You realized that whoever it was, they'd probably gotten off the bus behind you, so you whirled your head around to look at their house. Sure enough, you caught a glimpse of a figure heading inside, but they were in before you could figure out who it was.  
  
You shrugged as best as you could with your arms full of textbooks, and you turned back to your own door. Maybe you had a house key somewhere, but you didn't want to take the time to look for it.  
  
So instead, you crouched down, put your supplies on the ground, and stood up again. Mere seconds before you could knock, however, someone opened the door for you.  
  
"Hi, honey!" said the cheerful woman you could only assume was your movie mom. "How was your day?"  
  
You picked up your supplies and stepped inside. "Um, good," you said, finding it awkward how you had to treat this stranger as if you'd known her all your life. She kind of looked like your real mom, though. If your real mom wore an apron and a dress and tied her hair back in a bun, she would kind of look like the maternal unit in front of you.  
  
"Good!" this lady replied. "Now, the kitchen is FILTHY, so I'll be there if you need me." And with that, she was off to do one of the most stereotypical of 50's housewife activities: clean.  
  
As soon as you saw free space on a table, you put your books there. It felt good to have free arms.  
  
So good that you didn't want to fill them again to move books to your movie bedroom. Instead, you took a seat right there in the dining room and started on the small amount of homework you had. You weren't enthusiastic about doing homework for a school you wouldn't be attending for long, but you figured you should do it anyway. No sense getting in unnecessary trouble.  
  
About ten minutes later, when you were around a third of the way through your only assignment, a "DING DONG, DING DONG!" made you drop your pencil. Yes, someone had rung the doorbell. Twice.  
  
"Could you get that, ______?" your "mom" asked from the kitchen. "My hands are full."  
  
"Okay!" you called, and you stood up and walked to the door.  
  
When you answered it, you found that you recognized the face on the other side. It was Sollux, Eridan's rival in the movie. Or at least, they were rivals if you asked Eridan; Sollux thought of him as an annoyance more than anything else.  
  
"Hello," you said politely.  
  
"Hey," Sollux said. "Dad made me return the muffins your mom gave us yesterday. There's nothing wrong with them; Dad just doesn't want my brother to eat them all. So here you go." He shoved the tray of baked goods into your arms, seemingly wanting to get this overwith.  
  
You couldn't help but notice that he spoke with a bit of a lisp. That, his glasses, and his ability to calculate suggested he was supposed to be a stereotypical math geek, but he was tougher and more sarcastic than that type of character usually was. You'd always kind of liked him onscreen, especially in his interactions with Eridan.  
  
Speaking of Eridan, you suddenly remembered what he'd said on the bus. You asked Sollux, "You wouldn't happen to live next door, would you?"  
  
"Only for what, seven years now? I thought you knew," he replied dryly. "What makes you ask?"  
  
"Ah, nothing. Some kid on the bus was shocked that you lived next to me."  
  
"Who was it?"  
  
"His brother called him 'Eri.'" You were careful not to reveal more knowledge than it made sense for you to have in the movie's context.  
  
"Oh,  _him,_ " Sollux said, rolling his eyes. "He probably thinks I'm gonna 'corrupt' you or something. Don't believe anything he says about me."  
  
"Alright."  
  
"Well...bye." He turned around and left without another word.  
  
You closed the door and thought it was time to go back to work. But a sudden uncomfortable feeling below your stomach begged to differ. Okay, you'd empty your bladder first, and  _then_  go back to work.  
  
Thankfully, it wasn't hard to find the downstairs bathroom. Once there, nothing special happened until you were washing your hands.  
  
Inside the small puddle of water gathering near the drain, you thought you saw your real world bathroom. The upstairs one, to be exact. Was this another portal?  
  
You needed more water to find out for sure. So you pushed down that weird knob on the faucet, causing the drain to close. Once the sink was roughly three quarters of the way full, you turned off the faucet.  
  
Yep. That was your bathroom in there. And also in the image...was that Valerie?  
  
You wanted to slide headfirst into the picture, but it was best to test the waters first. So you dunked your hand in and wiggled your fingers. They felt free, like there wasn't water underneath the surface but air. That was certainly a good sign.  
  
And so was Valerie's surprised yelp, which you could hear from the movie world. After that, you removed your hand, took a deep breath, and dunked your face in the sink.  
  
You exhaled when you knew that you could breathe on the other side of the water. For the first time in hours, you were back at your house. Sort of.


	9. Chapter 9

Once your face was on the other side of the water, Valerie yelped again, this time louder. "_-______?" she stammered. "Is that really you?"  
  
"Yep! How long was I gone?" you asked.  
  
"Since this morning!" Valerie had calmed down, but only slightly. "Where were you? And how are you that deep in a puddle?"  
  
"Well, you're not gonna believe this, but you know that movie you watch all the time?"  
  
Your sister immediately lit up. " _A Little Bit of Love_?"  
  
"Yeah, that."  
  
"What about it?"  
  
"The rest of me is inside that movie. I have a 50's mom and everything!"  
  
"Yeah...speaking of the rest of you," Valerie began, looking a little uncomfortable, "you mind getting the rest of your head in here? It's kinda creepy with just your face poking out."  
  
You pushed against the edge of the sink to get your entire head through the surface of the water. Now you could see more of your bathroom. "How's that?" you asked your sister.  
  
"Better," she answered. "So, if you're in the movie, did you get to meet ERIDAN?" She was bouncing up and down, an eager grin stuck to her face.  
  
"Not really," you admitted. "I saw him a couple of times, but I haven't actually talked to him."  
  
"Shoot." The excitement flew out of her.  
  
Now it was time to discuss more important issues. "Do Mom and Dad know yet?" you asked.  
  
"They're not home yet."  
  
You let out a sigh of relief. "Good. Then I can still get the rest of me in, and it'll be like this never happened." Struggling to keep your balance, you moved one of your hands into the water. Once you were done with that, you moved your other one. "Can you please help me up, Valerie?"  
  
"Okay!" But as soon as Valerie reached for your hands, you lost your balance and slid back, landing on your feet.  
  
Once you caught your breath, you stuck your face back in the water. "I guess I'm gonna have to find another portal," you said. "And you're gonna have to explain this to our parents somehow."  
  
"But how?" your sister asked. "They won't believe me if I tell them the truth, and I don't wanna LIE!"  
  
Not to mention that if they didn't know where you were, they'd have to get the police involved. "That IS a problem," you said. But then you realized that the two portals you'd found had something in common. "Liquid!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"The key to going home! I think it's liquid! So when Mom and Dad ask where I am, you CAN tell them the truth! Just make a puddle. Or you could pour a glass of water."  
  
"And then..." You could spot the very moment when it clicked. "...they'd see where you are!"  
  
"Exactly!" you said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have homework to do, so see you later!"  
  
"See ya!"  
  
And with that, you got your face out of the water, pulled the faucet knob, and let the water drain.  
  
The rest of the afternoon was pretty peaceful. You finished your homework, ate dinner, met your movie dad, and relaxed.  
  
But the relaxation ended the next morning, when your alarm clock woke you up. You knew that soon, you'd have to go to school again.  
  
After you learned what a typical morning routine was for your alternate family, it was time to board the bus. And when you did, you noticed that Eridan was sitting alone.  
  
And sure enough, so was Cronus. "______! Hey!" He waved frantically, trying his hardest to get you to notice him. Oh, right; you'd said you were going to talk to him about something. So you did something you had thought you'd never do: willingly sit right next to him.  
  
"Morning, ______," he said. "Boy, am I glad to see  _you_  again. Now, about that discussion you promised..."  
  
What was it you were going to say? Oh, yeah! "As I was saying yesterday, you  _could_  get dates, but first you have to change some things."  
  
"Like...?"  
  
Now was your chance to unleash your list of complaints, even if you had to soften it for the sake of being civil. "First, you gotta stop being so clingy. If she's not interested, she's not interested. Got it?"  
  
"But maybe it's just 'cause she doesn't know me yet!"  
  
"That's another thing. If you don't know her, don't jump to the dating thing. Try to be her friend first. Get to know her as a person. But keep in mind that she IS allowed to just want to stay friends. DON'T YELL AT HER IF SHE DOES."  
  
"Good idea." He was smirking again. "So, wanna be friends?"  
  
You sighed. Clearly, this was going to take a while.


	10. Chapter 10

The rest of your bus conversation with Cronus was more of the same; you kept trying to give him love advice, and he kept missing the point. Once you arrived at school, you were about ready to give up.  
  
"Cronus," you said sternly, "do you want people to like you or not?"  
  
"Of course I want people to like me! It's just that  _you're_  one of those people. So why are you getting so worked up?"  
  
"Because you're not listening!" The bus stopped, and you stood up and gathered your school stuff. "Look, Cronus, the key to being likable is to know when to back down. Girls– no, people– aren't always in the mood to talk about love stuff. So don't always bring it to that."  
  
As the two of you left the bus, you continued. "You  _do_  have interests besides trying to get girls, right?" You refused to believe he was as one-dimentional in person as he was onscreen.  
  
"Sure I do," he answered.  
  
"Then what are they?" The two of you had a few minutes before school started, so you parked in front of the building, near that tree from your first encounter.  
  
He smiled a little. "Did you know I play guitar?"  
  
"No, actually." And you weren't lying. The movie never really showed that side of him. "What kind of stuff do you play?"  
  
"All kinds of things. Usually, my songs are whatever I'm feeling at the moment. They're a great way to vent."  
  
"I can imagine. But are they all serious? If I could write songs that easily, I'd HAVE to have fun with at least one of them."  
  
"Maybe if I had a happier life, I could do more of that." It was hard to tell if he was genuine or just being dramatic again.  
  
And you had a feeling it was best to not wave it off until you were sure he wasn't being genuine. "Is...is it really that bad?" you asked. "At home, too?"  
  
"Eridan's not the most supportive little brother. And Dad...he's just busy a lot of the time." He was staring at the ground as he said this. You could tell he wasn't trying to make it more dramatic than it needed to be. So you had to be sympathetic; you felt that otherwise YOU'D be the jerk here.  
  
Besides, this conversation was making you realize he didn't HAVE to be annoying.  
  
"What about your mom?" you asked.  
  
"Oh, her." He was silent for a few moments, making you think you'd hit a sensitive subject.  
  
"Oh, sorry. Would you rather not talk about it?"  
  
"No, I'll tell you. Just...don't go spreading it around, okay?" You nodded, and he took a deep breath. "She left Dad a while ago, when I was six and Eri was three. Eridan barely remembers her, but I still miss her. And I still have no idea why she went away." He sniffed, and you could see his eyes start to water. "I guess the whole 'unlucky in love' thing runs in the family, huh?"  
  
Uneasily, you put a hand on his shoulder, causing his head to shoot up. "______?" he said as if you'd just sprouted wings.  
  
"Don't CRY," you told him, trying not to sound too harsh. "You're gonna make me feel bad for you! And then we'll both feel bad, and the day will be ruined."  
  
"You're right." He sniffed again. "I shouldn't have let that out."  
  
"No, it's good you did. Now it's out of your system." You took your hand off as soon as you felt it was no longer necessary. "Now, we should really be getting to class."  
  
You started on your way to homeroom. "Hey, wait for me!" Cronus called.  
  
You stopped and waited for him to catch up to you. "What is it now?"  
  
"Um, thanks," he mumbled. "I'm not used to people listening to me."  
  
"No problem. But this is why you should listen to  _them,_  too. You got that?"  
  
"Yeah, I think so."  
  
You would say that you'd been wrong about him, but that wasn't entirely the case. He was still a jerk a lot of the time; there was no denying that. What you knew now was that his flaws weren't all there was to him. Just like you'd told him, he had potential.  
  
And the fact that he was making progress because of you felt like a huge accomplishment.


	11. Chapter 11

Well, it looked like you were sitting next to Cronus in homeroom again. Mr. Newman kept announcing that students were to sit in the same seats today as yesterday, and that meant you would be between Cronus and Damara.  
  
Damara, by the way, was already in her seat, and she was talking to a nervous-looking boy behind her. The guy was wearing goggles, of all things. “Forgive me,” he said through his forced smile, “but I don’t quite understand you.”  
  
You couldn’t tell what Damara said in reply, because it was in another language. Was it Japanese? It sounded like Japanese.  
  
“Is there some sort of assistance you require?” Goggles Guy guessed.  
  
Damara answered with more Japanese.  
  
Then the boy turned to the guy behind you, whom you believed you’d seen at lunch the day before. “Actually, I require assistance, and Rufioh, I’m aware of the STRENGTH of your language skills.” Why did he emphasize that word? There was no need to emphasize that word.  
  
Rufioh hesitated, shifting in his seat. “Uh, Horuss…” He leaned towards his friend and whispered something in his ear.  
  
“She wants me to do what?” Horuss asked, with Damara snickering in front of him.  
  
It was then that she finally noticed your presence. “Hello,” she said. “So. How you been?”  
  
Before you could answer, the bell rang. Well, you guessed that anything you wanted to ask her would have to wait.  
  
Time passed, classes went by, and throughout the morning, you kept from avoiding anyone. Granted, you didn’t go out of your way to find Cronus, but you didn’t avoid him, either. Amazingly, you’d grown a tolerance for him in the span of one day. In fact, when he waved to you in your third period class, you even lifted your hand back. This was definitely progress.  
  
You just hoped you’d made it clear enough that you wanted him to date other people.  
  
And when lunch came around, he didn’t try to ambush you before you could find Damara. So that was a good sign.  
  
You and your new friend sat down to eat with no Ampora-brand interference to be found. You could relax and let your thoughts run free knowing you were safe from rushed date proposals. For now.  
  
And just as your mind started to drift, you remembered what you’d seen that morning. “Damara?” you said.  
  
“Yes?”  
  
“If you don’t mind me asking, why were you speaking another language to that guy who didn’t understand you?”  
  
“Which guy?”  
  
“Horuss, I think it was.”  
  
“Oh. Horse boy. He fun to mess with.” Mess with?  
  
“What were you saying to him?” you asked uneasily.  
  
“Not important,” she said with a grin.  
  
You decided to shift the subject a little. “So, why did you call him ‘Horse Boy’?”  
  
In response, Damara just pointed her thumb in Horuss’s direction. At the moment, he was showing Rufioh a huge poster with a picture of a horse on it.  
  
“I see,” you said. Lunch wasn’t going to last forever, so you figured you should eat before thinking of something else to say. It was a good thing that this time, you’d been able to use money from your temporary home.  
  
But when you were finished with your meal, you went to take a sip of milk, only to realize it wasn’t there. You’d forgotten to buy some. Of course.  
  
“‘Scuse me,” you told Damara, and you stood up to get a drink from a nearby water fountain.  
  
After two seconds of slurping water from the spout, you spit it out in surprise. From the small puddle formed by the fountain, you heard “______!” From not just one voice, but three.  
  
And you were pretty sure that one of them belonged to your real mother.


	12. Chapter 12

Oh, of course! Your key to going home was liquid; you’d figured that out the day before! And that was why you could now hear not only your real mom, but also Valerie and Latula.  
  
You kept lightly pressing the button that made the spout shoot water; that way, your window to home wouldn’t go down the drain. And you confirmed, “Yeah, it’s me! Great to see you again!”  
  
Apparently you were loud enough to hear, because your mother immediately shouted, “You, too!” It was hard to tell due to the size of the puddle, but it looked like she then turned to Latula and Valerie to thank them. After that, she turned back to you. “But I wish I could see you CLEARLY again! I thought something horrible might have happened to you! Are you hurt?”  
  
“No,” you answered.  
  
“That's great, honey! Now, have you figured out how to GET OUT OF...wherever you are?”  
  
“Yeah! Actually…” You trailed off when you realized that you could have gone home already. _I should have taken a bath instead of a shower,_ you thought. In fact, that would be the perfect way to get home as soon as you arrived at your movie house!  
  
Finally, you finished your sentence. “Actually, I’ll be home tonight!” Your plan was perfect! All you had to do was go home, fill the bathtub, and dive in with your clothes on! You were filled to the brim with excitement, but then a little voice in your head interrupted your mental party. _But what about Cronus?_ it asked. _Weren’t you going to help him?_  
  
“So...see you!” you said to the people on the other side of the puddle, and you turned off the water. But you didn’t go back to your table yet. Instead, you just stepped to the side to let that guy who’d been standing over your shoulder use the fountain. And for a few moments, you just stood and thought.  
  
Maybe Cronus was expecting a little more help from you, but hey, this was just a movie, right? And going home to the real world was your top priority. Especially because you had real school the next day, and you preferred not to be stuck with all that makeup work.  
  
Still, it would be polite to let Cronus and Damara know that you wouldn’t be here the next day. But as you started on the way back to your table to tell Damara, someone tapped you on the shoulder.  
  
You whirled your head around to find that it was the same guy who’d been at the water fountain. “Hey!” he said. “Where’s that lady you were talking to?”  
  
“You...saw her?” you asked.  
  
“YES!” he yelled. His lisp reminded you of Sollux’s. “There was an old lady, and a little girl, and a hot chick!” Whoa. How could he tell? You’d barely been able to see Valerie or Latula. At least, that’s who you thought he was talking about. “WHERE ARE THEY?” he pressed.  
  
“Hold on. Let me try.” You walked back to the water fountain and pressed the button, harder this time. The puddle was slightly bigger, and you could see that Valerie and your mother weren’t in front of the real world liquid portal anymore. Now it was just Latula.  
  
“There’s one!” the guy exclaimed. “You. Keep holding it down.” You complied.  
  
You could see that Latula spotted the new image. “‘Sup, ______?” she asked, immediately following it with “Wait, you’re not ______.”  
  
“Nope! I’m Mituna! And you...your face...it looks nice.”  
  
“Uh, thanks?”  
  
“I’m sorry. I’m not usually like this. It’s just that...I turn into a whole different person when I get excited, or scared, or...um...THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING!”  
  
“You okay, dude?”  
  
“I’m sorry. I just want to talk to you, okay? You seem hot. NICE! I mean nice.”  
  
“Okay, but how’d you see me in the first place?”  
  
“Well, this girl, she–”  
  
Someone behind the two of you cleared her throat. “I think we should go,” you told Mituna.  
  
“But what about What’s-Her-Name?”  
  
“Latula, and, um, I think this happens with all liquid, if that helps.”  
  
“Like the bathtub?”  
  
“Well, yeah, but where would we get a bathtub?”  
  
“At your house! I know you!”  
  
“You...do?”  
  
“Yes! You live next door.”  
  
“Oh, you’re Sollux’s brother?”  
  
“Of course! You’re supposed to know these things.” Then he was off to whatever table he’d come from. “See you!’”  
  
“See you,” you said before heading back to your own table. Once there, you turned to Damara. “That took longer than I thought. Anyway, there’s something you should know. I’m...not from around here, and I’m going back home tomorrow. Don’t get me wrong; it’s been a great day and a half! I just won’t be coming back after today.”  
  
Before Damara could comment, you heard a certain Ampora’s voice behind you. “What?”


	13. Chapter 13

"But..." Cronus took a seat next to you so you wouldn't have to twist yourself so much to see him. "But you can't leave NOW! It's only the second day you've been here!"  
  
"Sorry, Cronus," you said, "but this was only a temporary thing! I have a whole life to get back to!"  
  
"A WHOLE life?" He grabbed your hand with both of his. "You mean I'm not part of it?"  
  
From behind you, Damara glared at Cronus, and he got the message. Immediately, he let go of you.  
  
You sighed. "Cronus, I met you yesterday. Technically you  _are_  a part of my life, but a pretty small one."  
  
"Geez, ______! Why do you have to be so cold?"  
  
"You're right; I'm being harsh again. But was a day and a half REALLY long enough for you to grow so attached to me?"  
  
"It was long enough for you to start to  _tolerate_  me." He slumped forward, resting his head on his arms. "I'll never get a chance like this again. And besides, I kinda got the impression you were going to help me some more. What happened to that?"  
  
"Priorities, Cronus. Priorities. I need to go home as soon as possible, but your date can wait. And I already gave you  _some_  advice! Just stick to it, and I'm sure someone will like you someday!"  
  
"It'll take a while."  
  
"Maybe, but you'll just have to be patient."  
  
Now it was his turn to sigh. "Look, ______, I don't think you understand. The thing is–" The end of lunch bell cut him off.  
  
And as he, you, and Damara started on your way to class, you thought you'd heard him say, "Where am I gonna find another girl like you?"  
  
Soon, you were in what would hopefully be your fourth to last class at Carnation High. Then came your third to last class. After that came your second to last class, and finally, it was your last class you'd ever have to sit through at this school. If all went according to plan, that was. You had to restrain yourself from bouncing in your seat.  
  
And as soon as the bell rang, you shot out of your chair. "Bye, Damara!" you called once you'd gathered your school stuff. "It was great hanging with you!"  
  
"You too!" she called back. "Hope your new life is nice!"  
  
"Thanks! Bye!" And within minutes, you were back on that weird-looking bus. There was no Cronus in sight...for approximately three seconds. Oh, well. The next scene Cronus was in wasn't supposed to take place until at least a week from then, so it didn't matter if he saw you.  
  
Which he did. And he seized the opportunity to sit next to you one last time. Of course, he still wasn't ready to accept that it would be the last. After a quick "Hey," he jumped right to begging you to stay here. "Can't you convince your parents not to move?" he pleaded.  
  
"They're not going anywhere. The parents I live with aren't my  _real_  parents; those two are at my real house!"  
  
"And they just dropped you off here?"  
  
You had the option to lie, but you decided not to. Instead, you just said "Um...it's a long story."  
  
"Eh...whatever. Maybe you don't need them!" He made sure to gaze directly into your eyes. "But, ______, I need you."  
  
A little uncomfortable, you looked to the side, avoiding Cronus's gaze. "Because I'm the first girl, maybe person, who even tolerated you?"  
  
Were those tears welling up in his eyes?  
  
You quickly tried to remedy the situation. "Wait, don't cry! I didn't mean to be hurtful! I mean, it's like I said. It doesn't have to be this way! You just have to recognize that it's you who has to change, not everybody around you."  
  
"And how was  _that_  not hurtful?"  
  
"You don't need to change who you are! Just be a little more courteous, that's all." You glanced out the window to see where you were, and you judged that you still had a few more minutes before you arrived at your house. Good.  
  
Anyway, a question popped into your head. "Hey, Cronus?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"If I hurt you so much, why do you still think you need me?"  
  
He smirked. "Because you have potential. To really like me, that is. Learning about me a little was enough for you to stop avoiding me, right?"  
  
"Well, yeah," you admitted.  
  
"So once we bond a little more, we could be pretty good friends. But we don't have to stop there."  
  
You scooted away from him.  
  
"I mean, if that's cool with you, we don't have to stop there," he corrected.  
  
You couldn't help but smile a little. "Great," you said. "You're learning."


	14. Chapter 14

“Of course I’m learning!” Cronus said. “You think I don’t listen when you talk to me?”  
  
“I’ve...gotten the impression you don’t,” you told him.  
  
“Well, impressions aren’t always right. Just look at me! Really, I think you and I could get along. Hey, we’re doing that right now!”  
  
You sensed what he was implying. “Maybe, but listen to me at least one more time, Cronus. Rule number one of dating is that you have to respect the other person’s wishes. And my wish is to go home. Will you please respect that?”  
  
His eyes were on the floor of the bus for a few moments, but soon he was looking at you again. Smiling warmly, he replied “Of course. I’m still gonna miss you, though. You’re a swell girl.”  
  
“You know what? You’re not so bad yourself.”  
  
You realized that you would arrive “home” any minute now, and suddenly, an idea came to you. But it was an idea that had to be carried out as soon as possible. “Hey, Cronus,” you said quickly, “What’s your brother’s whole name? I doubt it’s just ‘Eri.’”  
  
“Eridan Julius Ampora.” Cronus raised an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"  
  
"Just...hold on." You scrambled to get a pen from your supplies and tear a blank page out of one of your notebooks. As soon as you had both pen and paper, you looked up and searched for Eridan.  
  
Luckily, he was in the bench across from yours and Cronus's. "Eridan!" you called.  
  
He shifted away from the window, and his eyes darted back and forth before finally landing on you. "What do you want?" he asked. Although he acted a bit rude, he seemed genuinely surprised that someone other than his brother wanted to talk to him.  
  
"I'll keep it short," you said. "I know this girl who really likes you, but she can't tell you herself." You reached across Cronus with the pen and paper in your hand. The older Ampora saw what you were trying to do and grabbed the writing materials to hand to the younger. "Thanks," you said to him.  
  
Hesitantly, Eridan took the materials. "What's  _this_  for?" He looked back at you. "An' do I really have an admirer?"  
  
You nodded. "Yep! So can you sign that paper for her?"  
  
"An autograph?" Eridan questioned. "What kinda girl goes around askin' for autographs instead o' dates? And why does it have to go through you? She should really talk to me in person!" He paused. "Especially if she's cute."  
  
"He's just desperate," Cronus semi-whispered to you.   
  
"Shut up, Cro!" Eridan exclaimed. After a couple more seconds of hesitation, he shrugged and began writing on the paper.  
  
"Her name's Valerie, by the way," you told him.  
  
"Got it." Within a minute, Eridan was finished. And conveniently, the bus stopped in your neighborhood as soon as he added the last pen stroke.  
  
You stood up, gathered your stuff, and collected the pen and paper from Eridan's outstretched hand. "Thanks so much!" And with that, you started on your way out of the bus. "Bye!" you shouted. "And good luck!"  
  
You glanced back to see Cronus waving, trying his best to stay calm. "Bye, ______," he managed to get out, and right after that, you hopped off the bus.  
  
 _This is it,_  you thought.  _Just a few more minutes, and then I'll finally be back home._  
  
But as you approached the front door of your house, you decided that home could wait a few more seconds. You really wanted to know what Eridan wrote. So you stopped in front of the door and read the note on top of your books.  
  
"Valerie," it said. "I have no idea what to tell you, considerin' I don't know you, but thanks for likin' me, I guess. An' why don't you show yourself sometime? – Eridan Ampora."  
  
Not the most heartfelt note, in your opinion, but Valerie would appreciate it. Just as you were about to knock on the door again, a voice behind you yanked you out of your thoughts.  
  
"So are we going in, or what?" You spun around and saw Mituna standing right in front of you. Oh, yeah. He'd wanted to come to your house so he could talk to Latula. You guessed home would have to wait a few more minutes.  
  
"Oh, right," you said, and you knocked.  
  
A few moments later, your 50's mom opened the door for you a second time. "Hi, honey!" she said. "Oh, and Mituna! What brings  _you_  here?"  
  
"I shouldn't be too long," Mituna assured your movie mom.  
  
Said mom nodded, not even acknowledging that Mituna hadn't answered her question. "Alright," she said. "If you need anything, just let me know! I'll be dusting in the living room!"  
  
"Okay. Thanks, Mrs. ______." Mituna closed the door behind the two of you. "Now let's go!"  
  
You ran to the upstairs bathroom, and as soon as you were both in, you closed the drain and turned on the faucet. About a minute later, the tub was sufficiently full.  
  
And sure enough, you saw your house. On the other side of a portal that you wouldn't have to struggle to crawl through. It was a beautiful sight.  
  
But Mituna cut your admiration short when he stuck his head in. "Where's that Tula girl?"  
  
"Well, she doesn't live in my house. She's probably not– MITUNA, NO!"  
  
But it was too late. He'd already fallen in.  
  
END OF ACT I


	15. Chapter 15

ACT II  
  
All the hope you’d had before, all the excited anticipation of finally going home, fizzled at the sight of Mituna disappearing into the bathtub portal. And in its place came pure frustration.  
  
After all this time being stuck somewhere you’d NEVER asked to be stuck in, you’d thought you were finally done! You’d thought you were going to hop through a portal and finally end your unexpected adventure, but NO! It would be hours, maybe even DAYS before your movie-related problems were over. And it was all because some lovestruck background character lost his balance.  
  
You took a few deep breaths. _Hey, it’s not that bad,_ you told yourself. _I can still go home._ And you didn’t hesitate a second more to do so; at that moment, you crawled in the portal yourself.  
  
And once you were on the other side, you found yourself underneath the coffee table in the living room. Someone had spilled their water and hadn’t bothered to clean it up. Normally, you would have found that annoying, but now you were just thankful that there was a puddle big enough for you to fit through.  
  
You struggled to keep your balance as you let go of the edge of the bathtub in 50’s World and moved your arm to the living room floor. Slowly but surely, you eventually managed to lift yourself out of the portal. And for the first time in a while, your whole body was back inside the real world.  
  
But there was no time to enjoy the feeling of being home. You had to find Mituna! If you were lucky, you’d be able to make this adventure end in only minutes.  
  
So you did a quick survey of every room on the main floor of the house. There were no Mitunas in sight. Maybe he would be upstairs.  
  
There was someone on the stairs, but it wasn’t Mituna. “______! You’re home!” Valerie shouted. She bounded down the stairs and hugged you, making you jump a little.  
  
“It’s nice to see you, too, Valerie,” you said, just standing there awkwardly until she let go. “But I don’t have time for small talk. Have you seen a guy, kinda tall, with messy dark hair covering his eyes go by?”  
  
“I THOUGHT someone I didn’t know was in here! I heard him close the front door,” Valerie told you.  
  
“Oh, great,” you said under your breath.  
  
“Do YOU know him?”  
  
“Kinda. He’s from the movie.”  
  
“Wait, really?”  
  
“Yeah. He’s Sollux’s brother. And I gotta go find him! Tell Mom and Dad that I’ll be out for a little bit, okay?”  
  
“I didn’t know Sollux had...huh? Oh, okay!” The second after Valerie finished saying that, you were out the door.  
  
And thankfully, you saw Mituna at the end of the driveway. You ran down the slope, stopping short once you reached him. "Mituna!" you said, catching your breath. "Listen; you should really-"  
  
"Where's Latula?" he asked, cutting you off. "Where does she live?"  
  
"That's not important right now! You HAVE to go home!" you shouted. "You can talk to Latula afterwards!"  
  
"Can't I meet her in person and THEN go home?"  
  
"No way."  
  
"What the-? Why not?!"  
  
"Because I've been stuck with this 'worlds colliding' problem for over a day and a half now, and I will NOT keep it going for five more!"  
  
"Sheesh, calm down! I'm not gonna take five days! More like five minutes," he assured you. "Besides, why's it any of your business where I go?" He seemed to have missed the "worlds colliding" remark.  
  
"I don't know, to be honest. For all I know, it wouldn't have any effect if you stayed for a YEAR. But on the off-chance your being here WILL have an effect, I don't wanna take any chances."  
  
"Okay...I have no idea what you're talking about."  
  
Oops. You'd slipped. And you didn't want to make this poor guy question his entire existence by revealing he was from a movie. "Never mind," you said, slumping in defeat. "I'll take you to see Latula."  
  
So you walked Mituna to the Pyropes' house, located at the end of the street. With the movie character following closely behind, you walked up to the front door and rang the bell.  
  
It was Terezi who opened the door. "Hey," she said. "You're Latula's friend, right? Valerie's sister?"  
  
"Hi! And yes. I'm ______."  
  
"Who's the guy with you?"  
  
"Another, um, friend of Latula's."  
  
"Really? I've never seen him before." Terezi grinned and turned to Mituna. "This better not be a plan to rob us," she warned. "'Cause if it is, you just might see my mom in court."  
  
"What? I'm not a thief!" Mituna exclaimed.  
  
"I can confirm that he isn't," you said. "Latula's home, right?"  
  
"She's playing games in her room. But come on in anyway; I'll go get her."  
  
You and Mituna came on in, and you closed the door behind the both of you as Terezi ran upstairs. As the two of you waited for her to come back with her sister, you caught sight of a glass of water left on the dining room table. You stepped closer to it, and you checked to see if anything interesting was in there. Now would be a good time to check if portals still worked.  
  
As soon as you hunched over it, you heard a voice. "______?" it asked.  
  
You had to do a double take to confirm who it was. "CRONUS?!"


	16. Chapter 16

For a few moments, you couldn’t do anything but stare. Out of all of the characters who could have been on the other side of that portal, you bumped into  _Cronus_  again? Wow, maybe he’d been right, you thought. It really  _did_  seem like the universe was pushing you together.  
  
“It’s happening already!” he exclaimed before you could say anything. “I’m so in love with her that I’m seeing her everywhere! Why did she have to– wait, did you just talk?”  
  
No sense in hiding it now. “Yep,” you answered. “You’re looking at a portal, Cronus.” At least you had a distraction from the “in love” remark.  
  
“A portal? What do you mean?”  
  
“I mean that this is where I live. Well, actually, it’s a neighbor’s house, but I live close by.”  
  
“So, it’s kind of like some weird watery telephone?”  
  
“Sort of. Except if I were looking into something bigger than a glass of water…” You stopped when you realized you’d be giving him ideas.  
  
But you were too late; he was interested. “What?”  
  
“Um, you’d see more of the house.”  
  
“Well, yeah,” he said, a little annoyed. “I could figure  _that_  out. Come on, what were you  _really_  gonna say?”  
  
You sighed. “If the portal were bigger, you could crawl in and meet me in person.”  
  
“Really?” he said with an excited grin. But the grin fell within seconds, and he buried his face in one hand. “But that can’t be possible! I gotta be seeing things!”  
  
“No, you’re not,” you told him. “It’s really me.”   
  
“Then can you prove it somehow?”  
  
Could you? Well, if you were a figment of his imagination, you wouldn’t know any terms he didn’t know. “Hashtag selfie,” you said as if you were stating a fact.  
  
Wait. You hadn’t had to do that. You could have pretended to be a hallucination and just stopped talking to him, so why were you so determined for him to know the truth? After a bit of thought, you decided that it was to do him a favor. You didn’t want him to think he was eternally haunted by the image of his unattainable crush.  
  
You froze at your own internal words. Crush? Really? You? Sure, Cronus had talked about wanting to be more than friends with you, but you had thought he was just being Cronus. In the movie, he hit on any girl he could get a hold of. But you couldn’t ignore how hurt he’d looked when he learned you were going home. Could it really be that…?  
  
As you drifted back to reality, you finally noticed that Cronus was trying to get your attention. “_____? Earth to _____! Hey!”  
  
“Oh,” you said. “I’m still here. Sorry. So now do you believe it’s me?”  
  
“Oh, yeah. I  _still_  can’t figure out what you said. Hashbrown...shellfish…”  
  
“It’s not important.”  
  
“Okay, okay. So, uh, what were you thinking about? You know, when you were all unfocused like that?”  
  
“Oh...that. I’m just wondering something.”  
  
“What kind of something?”  
  
You took a deep breath. “Uh, Cronus, do you...actually like me?”  
  
“Of course! You got a lot of things going for you. Why do you think I was hanging around you so much?”  
  
“Yes, but I mean romantically. All those things you said about needing me and stuff, were they true? Or were you just flirting?”  
  
He was silent for a couple of seconds. Before he could answer, you heard someone bounding down the stairs. “I’m here!” Latula announced, with Terezi following closely behind.  
  
“Excuse me for a sec,” you said, and you stepped away from the glass of water to meet up with the Pyrope sisters and Mituna.  
  
Once she spotted you, Latula waved. “‘Hey! Sup, _____?” she said. “You finally got out of freaky puddle worldz!”  
  
“I sure did! And it’s great to be back! So, what have you been up to?”  
  
“Lookin’ for you, mostly. And boarding, and gaming. You know, the usual.”  
  
“Haha, but not board…” You heard Mituna clear his throat. “...gaming? Oh, sorry, Mituna.” You turned back to Latula. “This is Mituna. You may remember him from one of the freaky puddle worlds. He wanted to meet you in person. Mituna, this is Latula. I KNOW you remember her.”  
  
“Hi!” Mituna said as soon as you finished your sentence. He grabbed Latula’s hand and shook it eagerly.  
  
“Whoa!” Latula waited until he let go to answer with “Hey.”  
  
That started somewhat awkward conversation, which eventually led to Latula asking, “So, play any games?”  
  
“I tried playing ball with the other guys before,” Mituna offered. “It didn’t work out too well.”  
  
“No, I meant VIDEO games!”  
  
Mituna looked confused.  
  
“He’s from nineteen fifty-something,” you told your friend. “The closest thing they had back then was pinball.”  
  
“You’re from the past?” Latula asked in disbelief.  
  
“I’m in the future?” Mituna called out.  
  
“Yeah, kinda,” you said to both of them. “It’s hard to explain.” Then you turned to Latula and added, “The point is, there’s no way he could know what a video game  _is_.”  
  
“Then we gotta fix that!” A second later, Latula was already hurrying up the stairs. “Come on, Tuna! I’ll show you!” Mituna followed behind, leaving just you and and Terezi.  
  
Which was funny, because that “Oof!” you heard definitely didn’t come from either of you.  
  
“Uh, Terezi?” you asked. “There wouldn’t happen to be any large puddles nearby, would there?”  
  
Terezi thought for a moment. “No,” she replied. “But before you showed up, I  _was_  cleaning a window.”


	17. Chapter 17

You hurried to the living room, where the "Oof!" had seemed to come from. After nearly tripping on the one step down it took to enter the room, you found that there really was a wet window there.

And an Ampora lying next to it.

"Cronus?" you asked, just in case your brain was playing a prank.

"Yeah, it's me," he confirmed. "Ow."

"Are you okay?" was your next question. It was funny, you thought, that this was what you were asking first instead of "What are you doing here?" Clearly, you cared more about his well being than the fact that he was making things even more complicated for you. Of course, well being took priority no matter who the person was.

But you still felt you were starting to like him. As a friend, at least.

"I'm just fine," he answered. "Especially 'cause  _you're_  here."

You rolled your eyes, this time less out of annoyance.  "Why did I expect you to say anything else?" you said.

From next to you, Terezi chimed in. "I'm guessing this is another puddle world guy?" 

You turned to her and said, "Yep. I just know him a little better than Mituna."

"You know him better, huh?" Terezi suddenly gained a mischievous grin. "You're not  _dating_ , are you?" she asked before letting out a cackle.

"Yes," Cronus told her at the same time you said, "No."

You looked back at the movie character, who was now standing up. "Cronus!"

"Alright, alright." He then corrected himself. "We're not dating  _yet_." Terezi laughed some more.

"Okay, he's interested in me," you informed her. "But I've known him for, like, two days! Not even! He's just hung around me more than Mituna has. So that's what I meant."

"Whatever you say," Terezi said, still grinning. "I'm gonna go check on Latula and the other puddle guy." And with that, she left for the stairs.

Now you could finally get to that other question. "Cronus, what–"

Cronus interrupted. "Mituna's here, too?" Okay, maybe you'd still have to wait some more.

"Yeah," you answered. "You know him?"

"Sure I do! We're best friends! Real tight, he and I." Something about his tone of voice suggested that Mituna didn't agree, but you didn't know what.

So you didn't say anything about it. "Well, he fell into the bathtub I used to get home, and now I need to get him back. Which is making this adventure take a lot longer than it should. And now that you're here, it's gonna take even  _longer_." 

"What's the matter?" Cronus said. "Not happy to see me?"

You wanted to say that yes, that was exactly it, but it wasn't entirely true. "No, you're...fun and all, but I kind of wanted things to go back to normal," you decided to say. "So tell me, what made you come here?"

"Isn't it obvious? I wanted to see you!" He took a step closer to you. "You shoulda figured that out by now." 

"Oh, right. I can't think of another reason you'd want to leave home," you admitted. "Not to sound conceited or anything."

"You're not conceited, ______," he assured you. "I mean, I can think of some other reasons, but that's beside the point." He looked down at the carpet.

"Something wrong?" you asked.

"Nah," he said, looking back at you. "I'm not home anymore, am I?"

"I can't exactly let you stay  _here_ , either." 

"But ______," he protested, "can I at least stay long enough to return your favor?"

What favor? Oh, that whole thing about helping him be a better person. You'd forgotten. And you hadn't exactly finished that favor, but oh, well. "What do you mean?" you asked.

"What do you say I help get Mituna home for you? Today!"

You lit up immediately. "You'd do that?"

"Sure! I know him, after all. Wait here." And he started on his way upstairs just as Terezi came downstairs.

"Hey, Terezi," you said as you took a seat on the couch. "How's it going up there?"

"Okay. Latula and her puddle friend are doing 2 player. I also mentioned that the Cronus kid was here. Mituna didn't sound too happy." Terezi shrugged. "I'm not sure what's going on, but whatever."

"Oh, no," you said. There was no WAY those two were best friends.

You hurried up the stairs yourself and soon found Latula's room. You didn't hear any game-like noises, so the game must have been paused. However, you did hear yelling. Coming from Cronus.

Without even bothering to knock, you opened the door. "Hello? Is anything I'm saying getting through to that thick head of yours? I know you're playing your...whatevers...with her right now, but do you really think you have a chance with her? YOU? You're wasting my time, ______'s time, and ESPECIALLY this nice girl's time. Just accept it and GO–" Cronus finally noticed that you were there. "Oh, hey, ______."

A horrible mix of emotions swirled inside you. You'd just been starting to like this guy. Maybe, you'd told yourself, he wasn't as bad as you'd thought. But here he was, essentially calling his 'best friend' worthless." 

"Cronus," you managed to say while pushing back tears. "I thought you were better than that."


	18. Chapter 18

“Better than what?” Cronus asked. “I told you I’d get him home.”

“I didn’t think you meant it like THAT!” you shouted, still struggling not to cry. “Mituna, I’m so sorry. You can keep playing.” He unpaused the game and went on as if the encounter with his “friend” had never happened.

Meanwhile, you decided you didn’t even want to speak to Cronus. So you just looked him right in the eye and motioned for him to follow you. Once you both were out of the room, you turned your attention away from him and silently walked downstairs.

“______? You okay?” he asked on your way down, but you didn’t respond.

In fact, you didn’t say anything at all until you reached the portal he’d jumped through. And even then, it was only a stern, “Get in."

“What?” He shifted his glance from you to the window and back again. “You’ve talked to Mituna, right? He’s a freak! I’m sure you–”

“I SAID GET IN,” you said louder, cutting him off. “Before it dries!”

“______, why are you so upset about this? He wasn’t gonna leave otherwise. I  _had_  to!”

“No, you didn’t,” you said. “End of discussion. Now GET. IN.”

“Okay, okay! I’ll go back! But…”

“But what, Cronus?”

“But I need to know what’s wrong! You can’t let me go back knowing you hate me. Maybe we can fix this. I’ll fix it, I promise! But you gotta tell me what’s gotten you so worked up.”

Before you could respond, Terezi spoke up from the couch. “Could you guys maybe take this to another room?” she asked. “I’m trying to watch my show here.”

“Okay,” you said, and you led Cronus to the dining room. Not the best place for personal matters, but it was the closest room that didn’t have any people in it. You took a seat, and Cronus took the one next to you.

You kept quiet for a few moments before your companion spoke up. “So, the problem. Aren’t you gonna tell me what it is?"

“If you don’t already know what it is, telling you isn’t worth the effort,” you said, burying your head in your arms.

“Alright, so I was a little hard on Mituna–”

“A  _little_?”

“Okay, a lot hard on Mituna. And I get why you’re mad. But I don’t get why you...______, are you  _crying_?”

You sniffed. “Um…”

“Don’t tell me you care about the guy THAT much. Come on, ______, what’s wrong?"

You took a deep breath and kept your head in your arms, not yet deeming it safe to show your face.

“______, you’re breaking my heart even more than usual! I’ve NEVER seen you like this!” He paused to hear you struggling to calm yourself down. “You know what? I change my mind. I can handle it if you hate me. But you can’t send me back knowing you’re CRYING because of me! So please, I’m begging you, TELL ME WHAT’S WRONG!"

For a few moments, you were still quiet. But then you finally spoke up. “It’s a real shame, Cronus,” you said as you lifted your head from your arms. “I was actually starting to like you.”

“Wait...really?"

“Yep. After talking to you so much, I thought that maybe you weren’t so bad. That I’d been wrong about you.” You felt another burst of sadness. “But when I heard you...saying stuff like that, I…”

“You what?”

“I...well, if that’s how you treat your so-called ‘best friend,’ I don’t even wanna KNOW what you do with your regular friends!”

“Regular friends?” he repeated. “So I guess dating’s out of the question, huh?”

“Really? THAT’S what you’re worried about?” You looked back down at the table. “I can’t believe I ever thought you were redeemable.”

“I’m redeemable!” he said. “Don’t you remember telling me how to get people to like me? I listened!”

“I know you  _listened_ ,” you told him, “but have you actually been following my advice?” You leaned forward and rested your head in your hand. “If you’ve made any progress at all, you still got a long way to go.”

“That’s why I need you! So you can help me with that!” He reached for your free hand, but you swiped it from the table before he could get there. “Besides, you can’t expect much progress in a day.”

“True.” A lot calmer now, you straightened yourself up. “But the thing is, I don’t think you actually want to redeem yourself. You’re just doing this to date me eventually.”

“Hey, I just said I didn’t want you crying!”

“You can’t exactly fall for someone if they make you cry,” you pointed out. “Face it; even after all this time, you’re still holding onto the hope that I’ll change my mind about you. I gotta say, you’re really persistent.”

He smiled. “Can you blame me?”

You had no comment.

“Look, ______, maybe it would be nice if you agreed to a night at the drive-in, but have you ever considered that I could want to help you? Like you helped me?”

“Not unless you expected something in return.”

“I already got something. Some _one_ , really. You as a friend,” he said, smiling again. “So will you give me a chance to prove I’m not a lost cause?"

You thought it over for a bit. You couldn’t shake the feeling that this was all an act of desperation, that all he really cared about was getting the girl. But this seemed to run deeper than his usual desperation. Maybe you were wrong, but it sounded like he genuinely liked you. He was willing to change for you, wasn’t he? And even if it was just for you, at least he was willing to change at all.

“Alright,” you finally said. “But you gotta learn to be nice to other people, too. Not just me. You got that?”

“Deal!” he said before scooting his chair a little closer to yours. “So I guess I’ll be staying with you for a while?”

Oh.


	19. Chapter 19

If Cronus was going to prove himself as a decent individual, that DID mean he had to stay with you. That, or you’d have to go back to the movie world, and you didn’t want all that make up work.

Speaking of schoolwork…

“Oh, my gosh! I still have homework to do!” you exclaimed, standing up with such a force that it sent your chair back a short distance. “Sending Mituna back will have to wait, Cronus. We gotta go home!”

As quickly as you could, you ran upstairs and made arrangements for Mituna to stay at the Pyropes’ house for the next few days. Then you ran downstairs and, taking Cronus with you, hurried back to your house.

Once there, you immediately headed for the stairs, trusting that Cronus would close the door behind you. When you were about halfway up, you heard him call “Wait!”

You stopped short, leaving one foot still in the air. “Yeah?”

“Where do I go now?” he asked.

 _Oh, right,_ you thought as you put your foot down. There was still the issue of explaining to your parents why this random guy was now staying with you. The good news was that your mom had seen you through a liquid portal, so if you told her the truth, she’d probably believe you.

But you’d worry about that later. At the moment, you just wanted your work done. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but come up to my room with me,” you decided to tell Cronus. “You probably shouldn’t wander around before my parents know you’re staying here.”

“Hey, no need to explain yourself. I’m not complaining!” He quickly walked up the stairs, and once he was a couple steps behind you, you continued running to your room.

Soon, both of you reached your bedroom, and you shut the door behind you. “I see they fixed that leak,” you remarked, glancing up at the ceiling above your bed. Then you turned to Cronus. “I’ll be doing homework, so please don’t bother me.” You sat at your desk and began to gather the necessary supplies. “Oh! Looks like I only have two assignments!"

“How long’s that going to take you?” your otherworldly companion asked.

“Only about an hour or two.” With your supplies ready, you got right to work.

“Hold on,” Cronus said. “You expect me to just sit here for an HOUR and not even talk to you?”

“Like I said, I can’t let you go wandering yet. And this is important.”

“Yeah, but it’ll be so BORING!”

“Look, if you can’t respect that I have work to do–” You stopped yourself. “Then again, I do feel kinda bad having you do nothing. I’ll tell you what.” You stood up and searched around the room for something interesting. There was that book you’d retrieved a couple of days before, but Cronus probably wouldn’t be interested in that. Come on, there had to be _something_ …

“My phone!” you exclaimed, spotting the rectangular device underneath your bed. “How’d that get down there?” After taking a moment to try to answer that question, you shook your head, deciding it didn’t matter, and grabbed the phone. “Here you go,” you said as you handed Cronus the little chunk of technology. “I’ll let you play with my phone for a little while.”

He flipped the phone over and back again, examining it. “ _This_ is a phone?”

“Yep! Just don’t call anyone on it, okay?”

“Then what good is a phone?”

Oh, of course. He was from the fifties. When they didn’t have cell phones, and ESPECIALLY not smartphones.

“Here, Cronus.” You walked over and turned the phone on for him. “Phones have come a long way in sixty years.”

He stared in amazement. “Whoa. Are you sure this isn’t a tiny television set?”

You laughed a little. “Sort of. You can probably stream TV shows on it.”

“What?”

“Never mind. Just look at how I operate this thing.” Once Cronus was paying attention to your hand and the screen, you demonstrated the finger sliding necessary to work a smartphone. It was a bit difficult because you were looking at the screen upside down, but you were able to do basic stuff. Once you’d navigated your way to the home screen, you looked up. “Got it?”

“I think so.”

“Good. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have schoolwork to do.” And with that, you sat back down at your desk and picked up where you’d left off.

The next hour and a half or so went pretty smoothly. Except for the couple of times when you had to answer Cronus’s technical questions, you were able to finish your assignments uninterrupted.

And it didn’t seem like too long before you made the final pen stroke on your homework, snapped the piece of paper into your binder, and closed it with a triumphant “Done!”

“Already?” Cronus asked. “I was just getting the hang of Doodle Jump!”

“Oh, you can keep playing,” you assured him as you packed up your stuff. “Just let me know when the little battery in the corner is running on empty.”

“I don’t see a battery.”

Once you zipped up your backpack, you stood up and gave him another tech lesson, this one in how to check the charge.

“Oh, THAT battery. Sure is tiny.” He squinted to get a better look at it. “Fifty-five percent. I got time.” And he went right back to making the little green creature bounce on platforms.

Now it was time to bring your backpack downstairs, so it would be ready for the next morning. “Don’t leave my room, alright?” you asked Cronus as you stepped out the door.

“Mm-hmm,” he responded, still engrossed in the game. You didn’t think he was planning on leaving anytime soon.

So you shut the door and headed downstairs without saying anything else to him. Once your backpack was in place, you spun around to walk back upstairs. But before you reached the first step, you spotted your parents in the kitchen. Might as well say hi to them, you figured, since you hadn’t seen them in person in a few days. Besides, you couldn’t hide Cronus forever.

“Hi!” you exclaimed cheerfully as you ran into the kitchen. “I’m back!”

“______!” they shouted almost simultaneously.

Your mom slammed her book shut and stood up so she could wrap you in a tight hug. “Thank goodness! I was worried you’d be stuck...wherever that was...for good!”

“I’m glad I get to see you again, too!” you told her.

Your father tried to join in the hug, but as soon as he made contact with the two of you, your mother let go. “Did that other place treat you alright?” she asked.

“Wait, WHAT happened?” your dad said, since he hadn’t seen you in the puddle.

“Long story, and yeah, I guess so.” You took a deep breath before you added, “But I kinda brought someone with me.”

 

 


	20. Chapter 20

“You brought in someone from that world?” your mom asked, just to make sure.  
  
“Well, two people, actually,” you admitted. “But with one of them, it was an accident, and the other one came in on his own.”  
  
“Are they in the house right now?”  
  
“The second one is.” Well, if you didn’t ask now, when would you ask? “Is it alright if he stays here for a few days?”  
  
Your mother had to think this over for a bit. “I can’t say I’m not worried, considering you just met this person. Not to mention he’s from some other universe.”  
  
“No, it’s fine. I understand.” You turned to walk back upstairs. “I’ll tell him–”  
  
“Hold on, ______.”  
  
You stopped in your tracks and spun back around. “Yeah?”  
  
“I’m not totally against this. But I would at least like to meet him.”  
  
“Me, too,” your dad added. “I know even less about where he came from than your mother does!”  
  
You nodded. “Okay. Wait here.” And you continued on your way upstairs.   
  
Once you reached your bedroom, you clicked the door open without bothering to knock. It was your room, after all. You weren’t used to knocking.  
  
“Hey,” Cronus said, now on his back and still not moving his eyes from your phone.  
  
“Hey,” you said. “So...I talked to my parents.”  
  
“Uh-huh.”  
  
“They’re not all for the idea of you staying over…”  
  
“Uh-huh.”  
  
“...but they’re not all against it, either.”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
“They’d like to at least meet you before they make any final decisions.”  
  
“Hm.”  
  
“Preferably now.”  
  
“Okay.” He continued to focus on the game. It looked like the use of a mobile device as a distraction had worked a little too well.  
  
“Cronus?” you said after a few moments of silence and no movement off of your bed.  
  
“Darn!” Cronus exclaimed, apparently having just lost the level. “Sorry, what?”  
  
You sighed. “I said you have to go meet my parents now.” Just as Cronus reached to tap the phone again, you added, “It’s best you leave that here.”  
  
After a bit of hesitation, he said, “Yeah, you’re probably right,” and put the phone down on your bed. He didn’t seem too disappointed to put it down, though, because as soon as both of you were out of the room, he was grinning again. “So...meeting the parents, huh?”  
  
“You’re a persistent one,” you groaned. “Which reminds me. Please don’t make it look like we’re dating. That’ll just make them more suspicious.”  
  
“Okay, but...how would I make it look like we’re dating? Just out of curiosity.”  
  
“By touching me, for one thing,” you said, even though it hadn’t been THAT much of an issue. “Or making comments on my hotness, which may or may not be there.”  
  
“Oh, it’s there,” he said, smirking again. “Trust me.”  
  
You chose not to comment on that one. “Anyway...you got it?”  
  
“No hitting on you. Got it.”  
  
“Good.” By this point, you’d reached the bottom of the stairs, and you walked the rest of the way to your parents without another word.  
  
The meeting went surprisingly well. Cronus was as polite as he needed to be, and luckily, neither of your parents recognized him from the movie. You guessed they hadn’t payed any attention any of the times Valerie was watching the movie. And it was a good thing, too, not only because you didn’t want them to worry about you having someone like Cronus around, but also because you didn’t feel like explaining to the guy that he was from a film.  
  
Once it had been decided THAT Cronus would stay, you had to figure out WHERE he would stay. Of course, he wanted to sleep in your room, but you weren’t comfortable with the idea of sharing a bed with him, and your parents didn’t want to make him sleep on the floor. So you all decided on the living room couch, and that settled that.  
  
The only issue left was where he was going to go while you were in school. “You can’t just come with me,” you told him. “They have rules for visitors.” And whatever those rules were, you didn’t think they allowed some random kid to sit in on classes.  
  
“But we don’t know him well enough to leave him here alone!” your mother pointed out.  
  
“True.” You thought for a few seconds, trying to find other options. “Then...I guess you can go back home for school,” you told Cronus. “Your family’s probably wondering where you are, anyway.”  
  
“Believe me, ______, they...” He stopped himself. “...I’d just rather not.”  
  
“You have to go back sometime,” you said.  
  
“I know, but...not now, okay?” At this point, Cronus’s voice had lowered to a whisper.  
  
You suddenly remembered what he’d told you about his family, how his dad was busy and Eridan was less than supportive. “Alright,” you whispered back in understanding. “But what does that leave us?”  
  
“Why don’t you just call him? You know, to check up?” your dad suggested. “They let you keep your phone on  _sometimes,_  right?”  
  
“At least during lunch,” you said. “Would you and Mom really be okay with that? Cronus would still be here alone.”  
  
After a few moments, your mom responded with, “Well, maybe we can’t trust  _him_  yet, but we can trust  _you._ ”  
  
“Really? Thanks!”  
  
“Yeah, thanks, Mr. and Mrs. ______!” Cronus added.  
  
“It’s no trouble at all,” you mother assured. “Just know that he’s your responsibility, ______. If something happens with him, you’ll have to help fix it.”  
  
You had a feeling you’d be doing that anyway, but all you said was. “Got it!” And you turned around and started walking back to your room.  
  
Cronus immediately caught up with you. “Hey, ______?” he said. “Can I play with your phone...television...thing again?”


	21. Chapter 21

For the next few hours, Cronus was so preoccupied with your phone that you didn’t have to worry about him. You could go say hi to Valerie and enjoy your evening on your own. And you did.

Of course, Valerie asked about Eridan again, which made you realize that you’d left his autograph in the movie world. You’d have to get that later.

But with how stressful things had been, you didn’t want any more interdimensional travel for the rest of the night. No, you wanted to relax in your own home as soon as possible. It felt great to finally be able to do that.

Your enjoyment was only interrupted when it was almost time for bed; your mom called you to help set up Cronus’s sleeping location. And even THAT wasn’t that bad. You didn’t even have to run upstairs to get Cronus; he came down on his own. Granted, it was because the phone was almost out of charge, but hey. It was convenient timing.

Not long afterward, your lights were out, your phone was charging, and you were ready to hop into bed. Moments after you were under the covers, however, you heard a knock on the door. “Yeah?” you said, figuring one of your parents needed something, or Valerie wanted to show you something.

But actually, it wasn’t anyone in your family at all. “Hey,” Cronus said quietly, opening the door a crack.

“I thought you were going to bed,” you said as soon as he’d shut the door behind him.

“I was, but I...I wanted to ask you something.”

“Is it about sleeping in my room? Because we’ve been over this.”

“Tempting, but no.” He seemed to be smiling, but it was hard to tell in the low lighting. Regardless, you could tell from his tone of voice that his mood soon went back to serious...and a little uneasy. “Hey, ______?” he said.

“Yeah?”

After a bit of hesitation, he asked, “Are you still mad at me? About...what happened?”

That was a good question. Were you? You thought it over for a moment, then replied, “I’d be lying if I said I’m _completely_ over that.”

Cronus looked to the floor. “Oh…”

“But you said you were willing to redeem yourself, didn’t you? Just prove that you meant it, and we’ll see at the end of the week.”

He still seemed a bit disappointed. “Only a week?”

“You can’t stay here forever, Cronus.” Also, he was needed for his next scene in at least a week, and you didn’t want to disrupt the story. Speaking of which, if Cronus really was going to change himself, that could have a pretty big effect. But Eridan would continue his quest to find love...right?

Your worry must have shown on your face, because Cronus asked, “You alright, ______?”

That snapped you out of your thoughts. “Oh! Yeah, I’m fine.”

It was silent for the next few moments, so, guessing that your friend didn’t need anything else, you rolled over and closed your eyes. “Goodnight, Cronus,” you said.

It took a little bit, but eventually, you did hear footsteps, followed by “I know we just met yesterday and all, but...you’re real important to me, ______. I just thought you should know that.” And with that, he left, clicking the door closed behind him. “Goodnight.”

\-----------------

When you woke up the next morning, you didn’t quite remember what Cronus had said the night before. But as the memories of the previous day came flooding back to you, it popped into your head. And you couldn’t help but wonder if he’d really meant that, because if you were really that important to him, getting him home at the end of the week would be that much harder.

You decided it was best not to worry about that so early in the morning, though, and you crawled out of bed and got dressed for school. Once you’d used the bathroom as well, you walked downstairs to meet up with your family.

“Good morning, ______!” your mother said.

“Yeah, morning!” added Valerie. “Oh my gosh, you won’t BELIEVE what Terezi told me on the phone last night. She and her friend–”

Your mom interrupted her. “Shh! Our guest is still sleeping.”

When you walked over to the couch, you found that Cronus was still fast asleep. Maybe it was because he’d had trouble sleeping the night before, but that wasn’t necessarily the case. It seemed like him to sleep in, after all.

Once you’d eaten breakfast, Cronus was still lying there. Maybe it would be good to write him a note or something. So before you ran upstairs to brush your teeth, you grabbed the nearest piece of paper and pencil and wrote:

“Cronus–

Hope you slept okay. By the time you read this, everyone will probably be out the door, so just call me if you need me. I’ll have to take my cell phone to school, but the house phone will be there. It’s not a rotary phone like you have, so you’ll have to just push the buttons in sequence. And here’s the number:”

As you wrote the numbers down, it hit you that you were giving this guy your phone number. You considered writing that down before he could tease you about it, but you decided against it. Maybe he wouldn’t realize.

Once you’d set the note on the coffee table next to the couch, you were good to finish up your morning routine. And once that was done, you had a full ten minutes before you had to leave for the bus stop. What to do in that time?

When Valerie accidentally spilled some apple juice on the floor again, you realized you had the perfect opportunity to go get Eridan’s note. So, assuring everyone that you’d be back soon, you hopped through the puddle.

And you ended up in a different puddle, one not made of apple juice, but of rainwater. Well, it was good the movie world wasn’t going through a drought, you thought. And besides, it looked like the rain had stopped.

You glanced down at your outfit, noting it had changed to a more time period-appropriate one, and you wondered why this change of clothes didn’t happen to anyone from the movie. Was it because they weren’t from the future and didn’t NEED to change clothes?

Before you could wonder about that for long, your movie mom opened the door for you, which in this case wasn’t entirely a good thing. “______!” she exclaimed. “We were so worried!”

Oh, no.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [It isn't getting any better](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3170255) by [WolfieBlackBlood](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfieBlackBlood/pseuds/WolfieBlackBlood)




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